” Uncle Soon Guan (SG) became a Chartered Accountant to avoid inheriting his father’s business as a noodle vendor which gives only a tough life.
He grew up with operators of all kind of street food (his father’s friends), which has given him an extensive knowledge and love for the subject. ”
Seafood dinner by Jimbaran Beach- Can you spot the aeroplane?
The best place for fresh seafood in Bali is at Jimbaran Beach with its rows of open restaurants right on the sandy beach between the Bali Inter-Continental Resort and the airport. You can see planes landing on the runway in the distance. It is a convenient place to have seafood either at the start or end of a holiday in Bali as the airport is only 10 minutes way by car.
All kinds of fresh fish, squid, crabs, prawns, and lobsters are prepared on the open grill using burning coconut husks with exotic herbs and spices. We chose the Ganesha Cafe, a Hindu name as Balinese are predominantly Hindu.
Local Grilled Lobster
The seafood can be cooked in the usual other styles. We had a local lobster that was grilled. A kilo of the live lobster is 480,000 Rupiah ( about RM 160 ) whilst the iced version, also local but not alive is RM320,000 Rupiah ( about RM 110 ). We also had steamed prawns. The swimming ones in the tank was 220,000 Rupiah ( about RM 70 ) a kilo. Our third dish was a grouper, alive from the tank. It is 270,000 Rupiah ( about RM90 ) a kilo. The seafood comes with free seafood soup, vegetables, usually kangkung, salad, steamed rice and different sambals. A large bottle of the local beer, Bintang is 12,500 Rupiah ( about RM4 ). We brought a bottle of wine and there was no corkage charged, even though the restaurants also sells wines. The seafood was not cheap but is still good value for money, especially if you are a Westerner with USD or Pounds. An added attraction besides being able to eat seafood on the sandy beach is to watch Bali’s famous sunset.
Delicious FRESH seafood
The prawns were not as meaty as our tiger prawns. The steaming method uses chopped garlic coated on the prawn sliced into two and bathe in oil. Using the oil and garlic to drown the prawn will be frown upon by the health conscious diners. However, it tasted good and oil fragrant. The grouper we chose weighed only a kilo. It was steamed Cantonese style with a sweet soya sauce. The lobster, though not a live one was still very fresh and the grilling burnt aroma and taste complemented the other two dishes well.
J2Kfm, 2 years ago
timely! thanks for the post. but a bit on the pricier end, dont u think?
the lobster looks like a REAL killer.
Sue Ann, 2 years ago
Yea it does doesn’t it. Yes, it is on the high end,but I think its also mainly cause its situated at a tourist destination, and most of the patrons are probably Americans or Europeans so to them, in USD dollars its cheap. Not to us..:(
Alexandra, 2 years ago
Seafood on Jimbaran beach is the best!! I have been going there for years and years…my fav restaurant there is Cafe Bagus and it’s much cheaper…
Sue Ann, 2 years ago
oh cool. By the name of it, it better be Bagus! haha. Will let our guest blogger Uncle SG know bout that. Thanks!!
Uncle SG, 2 years ago
Shall tell an old friend going there tomorrow about Cafe Bagus. TQ Alexandra.
Tom, 2 months ago
As at September 2011 Jimbaran Beach has got a new section in the northernmost part of Jimbaran Bay: “Kelan” is a bit more relaxed than the crowded southern part of Jimbaran Bay and only at Kelan Beach you have the colorful fishing boats in front when sitting at a table on the beach. Give it a try!